bright orb seen by Natascha

The red marker is the location of the campsite, and the blue marker shows where Natascha encountered the bright orb. These two points are approximately 1,500 feet apart. Google maps image, double-click for HI-Rez view.

This is a report of something highly unusual. In the very early morning hours of March 3rd, I was sleeping out under the stars with my pal Natascha. We were both lying in the desert sand in a very isolated corner of southern Utah.

We had been to the multi-day UFO conference in Phoenix, and we were taking the scenic route to my home in Idaho. We had been driving and hiking throughout the day, and we set out our sleeping bags just a little bit after sunset. Instead of getting a hotel room, we chose to camp just off the (very beautiful) Burr Trail Road, about 8 miles east of the little town of Boulder Utah. The map of Utah (below) shows our location with a blue marker.

Natascha had recently arrived from Germany, and she was still feeling jet-lagged, so she couldn’t sleep. She got up out of her sleeping bag at about 2:AM, and tried to do some work on her computer in the front seat of the car.

After a while, she felt cold and took a walk on the road with just the stars for light. This is a very narrow road with almost zero traffic, especially during these early morning hours.

I’ll add that during this time I simply lay in my warm sleeping bag near the car.

Here is her (slightly edited) description of the curious events that followed:

I woke up, thinking it might be about 4:AM (it wasn't, it must have been 2:15 or so). Mike didn't want to get up yet, but I was wide awake. I spent some time looking up at the stars and although I felt nice and warm in my sleeping bag, I just couldn't go back to sleep again.

I finally decided to get up to sit in the car and work on the computer for a while.

It was still quite early (approx 3:30) when I went back to Mike, complaining that I'm cold. He said, he won't get up before the sunrise and that I could go for a walk. I said: "I will get lost in the darkness." He said: "There is the road you could take."

So I went for a walk on the road. It felt good to move. I didn't use my headlamp, the ambient light from the stars was enough. After a short time my eyes adapted to the darkness and I could see where I was walking. The road went uphill towards a huge rock feature. I enjoyed walking in the stillness, there was a dark beauty to my surroundings.

But there was more, I could sense something, almost like a buzz in the air, like the air wasn't empty, there was some sparkling. It felt like I could sense energy. I have this sensation once in while, but here in the darkness and this place of pure nature it felt like I had a heightened ability to "see" more than we usually do. My sensations were enhanced.

I was thinking about this heightened sensation when all of a sudden I saw something very unusual: there, about 150 feet away, close to the ground on the right side of the road was a bright light. It flashed, so I just saw it for a second or so. It was round, like an orb and it was so bright that my first thought was that there is somebody with a very bright flashlight. But it didn't make sense, it just flashed and it was very close to the ground.

Next thought (my mind went crazy, because I wanted an explanation), maybe it was a lightning bug? But the round light was much too big, like two feet in diameter. And shortly after realizing that there was no way I could explain this thing, I started to panic. I turned on my heels and ran back to Mike, looking over my shoulder once in a while because it felt like I was followed.

When I arrived at Mike lying on the ground I woke him up, telling him that I saw a bright light like an orb and that I'm scared and that I won't walk around alone anymore. Well, that made him get up.

I have no idea why I was so scared, and I was relieved that we finally packed up and drove away.

(Natascha's entire report, without editing, has been added to the comments below)
_______________________________________________________
Mike again, chiming in with a little bit more:

While Natascha was walking on that road, I was snug in my sleeping bag drifting in and out of sleep. During this time I heard an owl hooting, over and over, and it was quite close to where I was lying. Here's an audio clip of the very distinctive call of the Great Horned Owl.

Let me add that the night was perfectly lovely, calm and very quiet. The temps were quite chilly, and we both got a lot of frost on our sleeping bags. We saw one car drive down the road shortly after sunset, but as far as I could tell, that was the ONLY car that night.

And - While typing up this post, I got to where I was writing about Natascha's memories, and I felt a little bit presumptuous writing about her direct experiences. And at that exact moment, I received an email from her (while she was sitting in a coffee shop at the Charles Du Gaulle Airport) where she shared her memories. That text is posted above (typed in Arial), with minimal editing by me.

Desert sandstone in beautiful southern Utah, and the logo-image for this blog.

Cat People

I heart Jacques Toureur.

Preface to this post:

I wrote the majority of this text the night of the loud noise, January 29th. This subtle event triggered a flurry of self-examination, and the essay below. It was only the last sentence was written the next morning.

trailer for this evocative movie

The other night I was watching the very cool 1947 film CAT PEOPLE on DVD. I pressed pause and got up from the movie to get some ice cream from the kitchen.

At that point I was thinking about contacting Nick Redfern, and asking him to do an interview. In my head I rehearsed a speech where I would ask him to play the role of psychiatrist as a selfish way for me to try and unravel my own odd experiences.

I returned to the couch (and my black kitten climbed onto my lap) at the 57 minute mark of the DVD, where the psychiatrist character in the film gives a coldly logical speech (excerpted below) directed at the haunted Irena who is trying to deal with her evil cat identity. This heavy-handed bit of dialog seems to define my own challenges.

Irena (the main character in the film) is a deeply troubled artist, and also a shape shifting cat.

The creepy psychiatrist says:

You’re that close to real insanity. I can’t help you, you can only help yourself. You keep going back to the mad legends of your birthplace, forget them. You surround yourself with cat objects, pictures, paintings, get rid of them. Lead a normal life.

It was right at the end of this speech that I heard a very loud thud coming from the kitchen. I was really startled and my kitten jumped up from my lap and she darts to the corner of the couch, a spot where she can zip between the couch and the wall to hide in a zone of safety.

Now, let me say that this little kitten is afraid of nothing.

The sound in the kitchen sounded like nothing more than something plastic clattering in the sink. But, when I got up and looked around the kitchen, there was nothing out of place that might have made such a loud noise. The dishes were neatly stacked, and I couldn’t find anything that might be out of order.

I even tried to recreate the noise by dropping a plastic scrub brush into the sink, but it didn’t seem to sound at all like the jolting sound I had heard moments before.

I returned to the living room, and my other cat, Spazzy, exited the closet and very cautiously walked towards the kitchen. I followed her to see what she would look at, only to watch her sit at the entrance to the kitchen and do nothing. The jarring noise in the kitchen was odd, but more odd was when it occurred at the dramatic moment the film.

Let me add that I am completely thunderstruck by the dreamlike beauty of this film. I had seen it before, years ago on VHS, but this DVD print was remarkably beautiful.

A short excerpt of the creepy doctor and Irena. Beware, this is a mega-spoiler!

There are two domesticated cats are “featured” in the film. A light colored Siamese, and a black one. These match my cats, Spazzy and Jackie. And, there is an exceptionally beautifully photographed sequence in the film where there is a cat sitting on a light-box, curiously similar to my cute cats on light-box video. (posted over a month earlier on youtube)

Cats and a light-box NOT directed by Jacjues Toureur.

The doctor who gave that well scripted speech (excerpt above) ended up dead, the tragic heroine of the film kills him in her shape-shifting puma form after he gives her a lascivious kiss. This attempt at seduction on the part of the psychiatrist seems weirdly out of place, and I am not sure what to make of it. The script is very dreamlike, awash in mythic imagery, and it feels this character represents something calculating in a story full of unrequited passions.

The psychiatrist, the coldly logical force in the film speaks to the tragic Irena:

“You’re that close to real insanity..."

This is a small part of a speech of rationality, and later the doctor is brutally clawed to death by the sad Irena who is lost in a fog of paranormal obsessions. And at the same time, these obsessions prove to be very real. It sure seems like getting rid of a few cat pictures in her dramatically lit apartment wouldn’t have changed who she really was.

I spend a lot of my time trying to come to terms with my own experiences and what they might mean. I know that I am sane, but I have to assume that any pragmatic doctor would logically tell me: "You're that close to real insanity."

It felt like this was a message directed at me. What is the meaning? To ignore rationality and acknowledge the deeper truth that lays hidden in the paranormal?

*       *      *

The next morning I found my wooden scrub brush on the floor of the shower, this was obviously the source of the loud noise from the previous night.

________________________________________________

two owls cross my path

At some point during the late summer of '09 I made a sort of pledge; I wasn't going to pay attention to owls that were off at my periphery. I had been seeing so many owls that I needed some way to filter out the ones that were just sitting in a tree as I drove down the road, those didn't count.

I literally stated out-loud that I would only pay attention if an owl somehow crossed my path. Basically, they needed to swoop down in front of me, as if they were demanding my attention. Well, almost immediately after my verbal declaration, the owls seemed to respond - and they would appear in front of me in flight - cleanly bisecting my path.

The overt owl "performance" where they would cross my path happened multiple times in October of 2009. It first happened as I rode my bike thru my little home-town. And again a few weeks later in the presence of Whitley Strieber during a conference in California.

I didn't see many owls during the winter and summer of 2010, there was pretty much nothing for a almost a full year. I saw a few normal owls off on the side of the road as I was driving, it felt like their overt performances had eased off.

In September of last year (2010) I spent several nights in a row recording and editing an audio post about the month of October of '09, and it's overwhelming load of weirdness. Recording this podcast was emotional and time consuming. I would edit late into the night, awash in a sort of compulsion.

Here's where it gets weird. One early evening while I was riding my bike from a friend's house to my home, and knowing that I was on my way to work on that heavy-handed podcast - an owl swooped down from a telephone pole and silently crossed my path, landing on a fence post on the other side of the lonely rural road. I was immediately aware that this was somehow associated with the podcast.

Now, here's where it gets really weird! Two nights later, I was riding home on my bike from town (on a totally different road) and an owl swoops across my path and lands in a group of cottonwoods along side the road, at a bridge across the Teton Creek. Again, this was when I was on my way home to work on that heavy-handed podcast.

This came after a year of almost zero owl sightings.

My consistent interpretation of these owl incidents has been either you're on the right path or pay attention.

But after having two owls cross my path while on my way to edit that audio essay about synchronicities and paranormal experiences, I was imbued with an even deeper dedication to be as honest as I possibly could.

_____________________________________________

Also, I am pretty sure that the second owl sighting in this story (the one that landed in the cottonwood trees) was the exact same owl from THIS curious posting.
_____________________________________________

Whitley Srieber interviews Dr. Janet Elizabeth Colli

I am recommending a very interesting on-line recorded conversation. Whitley Srieber interviews Dr. Janet Elizabeth Colli on his DREAMLAND audio series.

Dr. Colli is a licensed psychotherapist who has been treating close encounter witnesses. She is trained in and experienced with transpersonal psychology, the branch of psychology that deals with altered states and non-ordinary states.

The audio is now only available for payed members of the UnknownCountry website.

There follows an absolutely fascinating discussion with a professional psychologist who is open to the close encounter experience.

Dr. Colli says "I think that at this point in our history, we are being intruded upon. We are being challenged to crack open our individual psyches and our collective psyche to come into a more harmonious relationship with beings that clearly live in a higher order of reality, in the sense that they can see us but we can't always see them."

Dr. Colli's website is SacredEncounters.com.

Not metaphorically - LITERALLY!

The cave

Okay - this just happened and I haven’t made any attempt to process or interpret anything, but here goes...

I was up early this morning and my cabin was cold so I put on warm clothes. Sitting at my desk I had a funny feeling under my sweater, right near my left nipple, right at my heart level. It felt like electricity, like an intermittent vibration. I thought that a fly or a mosquito was under my shirt fluttering it's tiny wings against my skin. Like "bzzzzzzzz!"

I've never in my life felt anything like it, and I reached up under my sweater to see it there was something itchy caught inside my shirt. Nothing, but something was definitely odd.

Then, I sent a note (thru facebook) to a guy who I met at a UFO conference, and minutes later he replies to me in a phone call. We talk for almost two hours (imagine that).

At a certain point during the phone call he tells me one of his experiences, a scary story. He said he was alone in his bedroom and suddenly, everything shifts and he's was trapped in a cave. It's wet and the floor is lumpy and cold. He tells me the details and he insists it’s REAL and not a dream. There some sort of projected fear, and he feels that he's being tortured. The story culminates with a GIANT predator lizard confronting him with threats of death.

Okay, crazy story, easy to dismiss as a dream or delusion, right? BUT - for the five minutes while he tells me this cave story - the electric buzzing under my sweater is basically switched ON. The very real sensation stays on for the whole story, and switches off when he’s done.

This was intense, someone shares a fantastically strange experience - AND I FEEL IT AT A HEART LEVEL. Not metaphorically - LITERALLY!!!!

Hows that!

Also, this guy has a lot of profound UFO related stuff in his life, but he doesn’t have many scary stories, he’s had almost exclusively wonderful loving experiences, and he says he’s told almost nobody about the experience in the cave. He went on to speculate that he feels such bliss during meditation that maybe his nice vibes pissed off the big evil predator lizard.

__________________________________________________

Lemme try to better describe the electric buzzing sensation. It felt like a toy Barbie cell phone set on vibrate was set lightly on the skin of my left part of my chest.

 __________________________________________________

parallel psychic experiences

In the last few months I've experienced some form of exacting psychic knowledge, I had a sense of absolute knowing that was palpable, and I when made the effort to check what I was feeling, and it was confirmed. I simply KNEW something that I shouldn’t have known.

Here’s an example, and I am going to avoid a few details because it involves someone else. I saw a very tiny profile image of a smiling woman on a facebook page, and without knowing why, I simply stated to myself, “This person is 48 years old and a psychic.”

The internet being what it is, it took just a few mouse clicks to get an email address for this person, and a phone number. And, sure enough, she was 48 years old and a psychic. We spoke on the phone for almost an hour, and there were a few other details in her life that were extremely interesting to me (and I’ll leave it at that).

Here’s another experience that, strangely, also involves facebook. In November of last year I contacted Jake Kotze through facebook to ask if he would do an interview. A few seconds after sending him the note, the phone rang and it was a friend from my youth calling to ask about our impending 30 year high school reunion. We spoke for a few minutes, and then she said she had to go. I went back to my desk, and saw that Jake had replied to my request (saying yes) and at that moment I knew, without question, that Jakes birthday was March 17th, (a quick check proved I was correct) and this was the same birthday as the person who I had just spoken to on the phone, but 20 years earlier.

Even though there wasn't anything overtly profound bout these two little events, these were exacting psychic hits, and I cannot state this clearly enough, I absolutely KNEW these facts in a way that was clear and unambiguous.

There are psychics out there who may see this as old hat, but this is something entirely new to me, and I gotta say it's a little overwhelming. All I can do is proceed forward, and hope that these skills can get put to some good use.

parallel psychics

I just got off the phone with Marla Frees. We had a very lovely conversation where she explained that she felt compelled to call me because she needed to share something.

She struggled a little to articulate what it was exactly, but she said I was supposed to be working (or promoting?) my illustration (or creative) skills. She felt it was an important time for me, and I needed to play self-promoter, she felt inspired to tell me this stuff.

Three days ago Anya Briggs called me and shared almost the exact same thing. Let me add that she called right while I was drawing the graphic novel image that I posted under the headline: the creative process.

Neither of them could quite express exactly what they were feeling, and they searched for phrases to try and put their psychic impressions into words. Basically, they said the same thing, and in the same unsettled way. These two women are both forthright and very clear speakers, and both had difficulty articulating their thoughts during the phone calls. Both spoke in a sort of an awkward halting way that was very distinct.

Please know, from my direct experiences both Anya and Marla are very powerful psychics.

______________________________________________________

Links for Anya and Marla.

______________________________________________________

This is the illustration I was drawing when Anya Briggs called me on the phone to tell me I needed to pursue some sort of creative project. This was pretty much the very first pen-to-paper sketch for a graphic novel idea.

______________________________________________________

dove, angel or mothman?

A curious Rorschach Test as seen in a simple portrait photo.

The image of Mac Tonnies in the side-bar at the left has generated a little bit of chatter by the readers. Does the shadow of his glasses look like something? I used photoshop to help visually isolate the shadow, as seen on the right (above).

Christopher Knowles (ever the mythologyst) chimed in by simply stating: A Phoenix.

___________________________________________________

the creative process (and inspiration)

First RUFF / color study for comic book idea. Double click for a HI-rez image.

Mac Tonnies spoke to me on 1-11-11. This communication was straightforward and succinct, albeit indirect. I heard his strong clear voice telling me (very nicely) to get off my sorry ass and produce a graphic novel.

This creative prodding came thru in a recent essay, it was a heartfelt piece about Mac Tonnies, synchronicity, the creative process and life. The article was published in The Atlantic by a friend of Mac's named Rita J. King.

The same day I read her piece, I sat at the desk, and began drawing and writing. I've had a fictional story brewing in my the recesses of my head for about a year, and as of now, the pen and paper have met. I'm posting this rough illustration as an overt way to publicly announcing my intention. I feel like I know my own work habits, and by declaring this stuff here, I'm a lot less likely to let this project slip away and never get done.

Thank you Rita and Mac!

___________________________________________________

Another image as color study and overall style, added 3/31/2011

this whole blog, read in order

Shortly before the Christmas season (I don't remember the exact day) I had what I've been calling a nice thought. This was nothing more than an idea popping into my head. I thought to myself, I would really love to have someone go through and read all my blog postings, one-by-one in order. Hopefully someone with a fresh perspective could give me a little bit of feedback. But mostly, I just wanna know if I've lost my mind.

Maybe I should have a contest? The first person to read the whole thing could win a gift certificate for ice cream!

Then, just a few days later (or hours later? I can't really figure it out) I received a very nice comment on the winter solstice, from someone calling himself Brizdaz. And, he really did go through and read every post! His summation was entirely complimentary! So, from his feedback, both funny and insightful, I feel reassured that I'm not insane. And, curiously, his very first comment to me (see bellow) was inspired by owls.

_____________________________________________
Brizdaz wrote:

Mike,

This is the first time I have read your blog and I find it truly fascinating, so I've decided to start right at the beginning and work my way through ... The first post I read on this blog was "Owl on a Cold Winter's Night" ... then I started scrolling down, and thought, where do I start - the answer - at the beginning, of course.

So I went right back and started scrolling up. So far,I'm as far as the "Owls at Sunset" post, and a thought entered my head that maybe owls are some sort of alien/hybrid cross also, and maybe they can work as a type of alien messenger or drone type creature for aliens to watch us from afar? They do appear otherworldly compared to most birds.

Just a thought, and love the blog.

(PLEASE NOTE: the comment above is slightly edited for brevity)

_____________________________________________

Text added Jan. 27, 2011:

Presently FOUR people have chimed in and told me that they have read every post on this blog. To Mark, Red Pill Junkie, Lucretia Heart and Brizdaz; I thank you from the deepest part of my being, I appreciate your support (and patience) enormously!

swapping stories about high strangeness

Just so y'know, there is a two hour long audio conversation between Gia Scott and myself on THE DAWN OF SHADES. We talk about the overlapping of synchronicities and the UFO contact phenomenon.

One-click download HERE.

audio conversation with Kim Carlsberg

During our conversation, Kim says, “When you are opened up, you are opened to everything." That simple statement says a lot.

This was decidedly NOT an interview, instead it was a perfectly enjoyable conversation, seemingly without any framework or direction. But, I feel like we covered more ideas more deeply than we ever could have in a standard interview format. Plus a curious synchro-weirdness sneaks into our conversation at the 1:11:11 time count (more below on that).

One-click download HERE.

1 hour and 55 minutes of audio

Kim is the author of Beyond My Wildest Dreams, with illustrations by Darryl Anka. This book details her life experiences in a diary format with the UFO abduction phenomenon.

She is also the editor of a recent published book titled The Art of Close Encounters which features illustrations and first hand experiences by UFO contactees, along with artwork that depicts their memories.

Kim has been busy doing a lot of interviews lately, I feel like she allowed herself to dig a little deeper on this podcast. I am profoundly honored that she shared a wider breadth of her experiences with me. I’ll add that I shared a lot too.

This interview seems to focus a lot on channeling, a topic that fascinates me. I know that plenty of folks will dismiss this topic with outright contempt, but I feel that it’s important. I’ll also add that there is still that little kid in me, and if everybody says to ignore channeling, I wanna look at it even more deeply.

I will occasionally make reference to late night cable TV documentaries on the abduction experience, and how these can’t truly tell a story with any depth. Well, Kim has been a part of exactly these (somewhat cheesy) documentaries. And here’s an example, and it’s interesting. The production is sort of overly sensationalized, with the moody lighting and scary music. But the actual content of what the abductees say, and how it is explained by the narrator seems pretty even keeled. The info is quite solid; if "Joe Normal" was to watch this, he would be presented with an accurate but simplistic foundation of the abduction phenomenon.

The clip below is from some point in the early 90's. It features Kim (as always) speaking her truth to the world.

Myself and Kim at the 2011 OpenMinds conference in Arizona.

But - there is a lot more going on under the surface. Perhaps the documentary format will never be able to properly depict the complexity and depth of these experiences.

Also: There is a weird synchronicity, caught during the recoding, where we both greet our pal Phil out loud and simultaneously.

television documentary from the late 1990s

________________________________________________________

Addendum:

The one question that I regrettably did NOT ask was, what is David Hasselhoff REALLY like?

Ubber thespian Mr. Hasselhoff reading Budd Hopkins' MISSING TIME during a quiet moment on the set of Bay Watch. Photo by Kim Carlsberg.

________________________________________________________

Synchro-grooviness:

There was a VERY odd coincidence during the recording involving both of us shouting "Phil?" at the pretty much the same moment. When we realize what happened, we both laugh. Our laughter happens at the 1:11:11 time count.

________________________________________________________

And more tiny oddities:

See the image below, this is a screen image with yellow highlighting added by me. This was on my screen this morning, and I realized that there were two references to 1:11:11 and each was a different context, a date and a time-count. These were just a few inches apart, and the synchro-weirdness made me take note. This is a tiny thing, but it is a clue none the less.

Image from this blog, about sychronicities, with synchronicties.

Rita wrote, "I don't have time." Mac replied, "Find the time."

I just found a superior article about Mac, HERE, written by his friend Rita J. King. This is a follow up to the New York Times piece, published in the recent Atlantic. The author shares heartfelt synchronicity that touches on life and death.

She also articulates and the deep creative enthusiasm that defined my friend Mac.

In a funny way, I feel that this short article is speaking directly to me, I am hearing Mac's strong clear voice telling me (very nicely) to get off my sorry ass and produce a graphic novel.

audio conversation with Dr. Leo Sprinkle

_______________________________________________________

PLEASE NOTE:

The audio has been revised and improved. (as of Dec. 17, 2011)

Leo Sprinkle photographed in Wyoming with Mac Tonnies.

Mac wrote: The blur is almost certainly the result of paranormal forces! ;-)

I am perfectly honored to have shared two hours in recorded conversation with Dr. Leo Sprinkle. This man's biography reads like a checklist of every major event in the modern era of UFO research. He is now 80 years old and at the top of his game. And, after a half century of looking into the UFO phenomenon, he is still open minded and optimistic. I envy his child-like outlook in a realm full of deception and terrifying first hand accounts.

One-click download HERE.

2 hours and 1 minute long

During this interview Leo says: "The map ain't necessarily the territory." That short phrase sums up a lot of our conversation as well as my personal challenges around the UFO phenomenon.

Leo shares his own abduction memories (or in his case induction). And the interview culminates with Leo channeling from his guides as a way to help me better understand a recent experience of my own.

Let me also say that Leo and I look like each other. We are both tall, trim and bald. We both have unusually big eyes too. But, he talks in a calm composed way and I talk fast with frenetic mumbling.

His book SOUL SAMPLES is essential reading, and it gives you an insight into Leo's ideas and methods. Here's an essay about the book.

I also highly recommend this interview on THE PARACAST with David Biedny.

___________________________________________________________

Mac Tonnies featured in the New York Times

This upcoming Sunday, there will be an article in the New York Times magazine titled: Cyberspace When You’re Dead By ROB WALKER. It features a long section on Mac Tonnies and the impact of his passing as seen on the internet.

I received an email about this article from Mac's mother Dana, and I read it within seconds of posting a photo of Mac and Leo Srpinkle (with a funny tag-line) and that was part of the essay above. The sychronicities continue.

Leo Sprinkle photographed in Wyoming with Mac Tonnies.

Mac wrote: The blur is almost certainly the result of paranormal forces! ;-)

_________________________________________________________

Here is an excerpt from the New York Times article:

The last entry on Posthuman Blues was titled “Tritptych #15,” a set of three images with no text. The first comment to this post came from an anonymous reader, wondering why Tonnies had not updated the blog or tweeted for two days. Some similar comments followed, and then this: “Mac Tonnies passed away earlier in the week. Our condolences are with his family and friends in this time of grief.” The author of that comment was also anonymous. After a rapid back-and-forth about whether this startling news was true and some details of the circumstances, that post’s comment section transformed into a remarkable mix of tributes, grieving and commiseration. You can still read all this today, in a thread that runs to more than 250 comments.

“It was a very strange feeling,” Dana Tonnies, Mac’s mother, told me, describing how she and her husband became aware of the swirl of activity attaching to her son’s online self. “I had no control over what was being said about him, almost immediately.” Dana and Bob Tonnies were close to their only son — in fact they had coffee with him, in a regular Sunday ritual, the morning before he died — but they had little contact with his digital self. Sometimes he would show them his online writing, but he had to do so by literally putting his laptop in front of them. The Tonnies did not read blogs. In fact they did not own a computer.

In the months after their son’s death, Dana and Bob went about the difficult business of organizing his papers (letters, e-mail printouts, story drafts) and deciding which of his belongings to keep (like his thousand or so books) or to give to his friends (his leather jacket, his three watches). This painful process took awhile, and they were not really focused on his blog or Flickr account and the like. They also inherited their son’s computer and have since learned how to navigate it and the Internet. But by then, their son’s online circle had already taken action.

____________________________________________

Follow-up from Mike C:

Let me add that I now have Mac's leather jacket, it is a deeply treasured gift from his family.

Over the last year I have used this blog to share some deeply personal stories about my friendship with Mac, and they are collected HERE.

____________________________________________

More info added on 1 / 11 / 11 :

A superior article about Mac, HERE, written by his friend Rita J. King, published in the recent Atlantic. The author shares heartfelt synchronicites and the deep creative enthusiasm that defined my friend Mac.

This inspired it's own post, and a personal challenge.